Jodi Davis Featured Speaker at 2012 Nonprofit Leadership Conference

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits presented the 2012 Nonprofit Leadership Conference at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska on June 26, 2012. Jodi Davis, founder of JD Coaching & Consulting, LLC. spoke on the unique nature of nonprofits.

. Jodi Davis, founder of JD Coaching & Consulting, LLC, spoke on the unique nature of nonprofit boards. Davis opened the discussion "Leading Board Development: Increasing Your Board's Performance and Motivation."

"The nature of nonprofit boards is unique," Davis explained. "Membership on boards rotates frequently, the individual motivation of board members can be diverse and the organizational missions are often passion-based." This leads to challenges for the leadership of the organization the board serves and in defining and attaining goals. Davis discussed how this unique nature can be an asset. "Diversity of board members contributes to enhanced engagement and collaboration with the organizations they serve," said Davis.

Davis's discussion included case-study research, examples from current nonprofit leaders, and findings from a metro-wide benchmark study on board strengths and weaknesses in five key areas of performance.

Additional contributors to the discussion: Mary Jones, chief advancement officer, The YWCA of Minneapolis; Lowell Berggren, president and CEO, Jones-Harrison; Sharon Aadalen, board member, Jones-Harrison; and Jason Inskeep, board member, Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

About Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) is the largest state association of nonprofits in the U.S. They provide resources and training to their more than two thousand members to protect the nonprofit sector in Minnesota. The 2012 Nonprofit Leadership Conference featured discussions on the future of nonprofit organizations and their capacity to engage people and impact communities.

More about JD Coaching & Consulting

As founder of JD Coaching & Consulting, Jodi Davis has more than 25 years of experience working in the nonprofit community. She has served as a board member for five nonprofit organizations and the Executive Director of a well-recognized children's healthcare agency. Davis's company consults regularly with nonprofit clients, advising management and board executives on leadership and governance. Learn more at jodidavis.com.